Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 10:31

As the apostle Paul was teaching the young church how to live the Christian life, he emphasized that worship was not a ritualistic act performed in a certain place at a certain time, but was a matter of performing all the acts of normal life in a manner which gives praise, thanks, and glory to God. This is a reflection and extension of what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well when he told her, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." He was indicating to the woman (and us) that, even though man has been worshiping God through rituals, such as sacrifices, the day was at hand when the proper form of worship would be a state of mind which is continuously conscience of giving glory to God. Not just at a special time and place, but always in every aspect of daily life.

Paul gives specific examples of living life to the glory of God throughout his epistles. Whether in speech or work (Colossians 3:17), eating or drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31), as employee or boss (Ephesians 6:5-9), we are to do everything "as unto Christ" (Ephesians 6:5) to the glory of God. Because God has already told man through Isaiah that he is not interested in the blood of sacrifices, or the smell of incense and burnt offerings, and the observing of seasons and feasts. (Isaiah 1:11-14) What God desires from man is a regular lifestyle that honors him. It is how we treat one another, orphans and widows, strangers and travelers, those who are sick or in prison that matters to God. Not rituals and rules.

The Bible instructs us that sin is not just stealing or lying or coveting or committing adultery, it is refusing to acknowledge that God is the creator and author of all things. Sin is a refusal to give God thanks and praise for everything that is. Sin is the absence of giving God the glory He is due in everything we do. This is done by putting our attention "on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2) That means that we should think about how what we are doing, no matter what it is, will serve and please God, displaying his greatness and glory, rather than focusing on how it will benefit us. If our focus is on God in all we do, then we will be giving Him the kind of service and worship He desires. He will be pleased, and we will be blessed.

As we perform the tasks of daily life, we should remember Paul's admonition that "whatever is not faith is sin." (Romans 14:23) What Paul is telling us is that we should not consider an act, a way of doing something, or something we refrain from doing which is based on doctrines or teaching of man to be an act of worship and glorifying God. Simply saying, "I do this because my religion says it is what I am supposed to do," does not qualify as an act of faith; and therefore it does not qualify as living to the glory of God. Our actions and deeds must be founded in true faith in Christ Jesus and his teachings if they are to glorify God. Here again we see the need to put our attention "on things above, not on things on the earth." Our motivation needs to come to us from God through Jesus via the Holy Spirit if our daily life is to be a reflection of the power, grace, and glory of God. It is His spirit that must be the motivating and guiding force in our lives, not the desires, teachings, and objectives of man.

Living ordinary daily life with all its cares and difficulties in a way that honors God in all things is not really a difficult task if we remember just how powerful the grace of God and the love of Jesus are. As long as we have that power which comes to us through faith, we can accomplish anything. Remember the words Jesus spoke to his disciples, "with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) As long as we go through our normal day with our thoughts focused on God rather than on the things of this world, His Holy Spirit will be with us. He will lead us in His ways, the our Father which art in heaven me be honored and glorified in all that we do.

May the grace of God be with you, guide you in all that you do, and give you His peace. Amen.

Scripture references: Judges 9, 1 Samuel 16

If you are the youngest male child in your family, or if you are male with several older brothers, you know what boys in that family position have gone through for all of man's history. Being the baby brother can mean getting a lot of attention; it can also mean getting left out at times. It can put a boy in a position of favor with adults; and it can cause a boy to be envied and resented by his older siblings. Being the youngest boy can have advantages and disadvantages. It can mean being the most favored in mom and dad's eyes, and the least favored in the eyes of the older brothers.

I would like to look at two stories from the Old Testament concerning the youngest brother in a family, and how God raises up the youngest boy to demonstrate His glory. They are the story of Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon. And the story of David, the youngest son of Jesse. In each of these two lives God shows how the ways and wisdom of Man are not His. For God does not care about birth order as man does, but about the heart and spirit of a boy.

The story of Jotham is a sad tale with a just end. One of his older step-brother's, Abimelech, decided that he wanted to be the ruler after Gideons death. So he decided to kill all of his other brothers. The only boy who escaped the mass slaughter was the youngest, Jotham. He was able to hide and save himself. Afterwards, Jotham proclaimed a curse on Abimelech and all those who followed him. In the end, the curse was fulfilled, and Abimelech was killed and his followers suffered. The youngest son triumphed in the end, not because of his own strength, but because of God's justice toward the righteous.

The second story, that of the young shepherd boy who became King of Israel, is well known. Young David was left alone to watch the family's herd of sheep, while all the older boys went off to fight with King Saul. But God was displeased with Saul and sought to anoint a new King. So He sent his prophet, Samuel, to the house of Jesse to seek the new King. And much to his own surprise, as well as the surprise of everyone else, it was not the oldest and best looking of Jesse's son whom God choose, but the youngest son. And it was this youngest son who triumphed over the giant Goliath, and conquered many peoples and lands, and brought greatness to Israel, and glory to God.

Throughout the Bible God teaches us that His ways are not like ours. He does not value the things we find important. The people God chooses to raise up in world to show his greatness and glory are often the youngest, or poorest, or despised of common men. When choosing the followers of Jesus, He choose common fishermen and a publican. When spreading the gospel to all the world, He choose Saul, a persecutor of the church; someone no man would have chosen to be a spokesman for Jesus Christ. And Paul's followers and great leaders of the early Church, like Aquila and Pirscilla, were mostly common men and women. In this way, God makes it clear that it is His power, wisdom and grace which are displayed to the world; therefore no man or nation may boast of their own power and accomplishments. That is the reason God told Gideon to take only three-hundred men into battle against Israel's enemy. So that Israel would not be able to boast of their great victory, but God would receive glory and honor before all men.

So if you are the youngest son or daughter, or the weakest or smallest in your group, or perhaps the poorest and least attractive, remember how God quite often raises up such as these to show forth his mighty power and glory to all the world. By forgetting about what man values and placing your faith in God, you can share in his glory and be blessed far above those whom man considers greater.

May the peace and blessings of God be with you. Amen.

Scripture reference: Exodus 20:16

The Ninth Commandment can easily be collapsed to, "They shalt not lie." Which can then be expanded to mean lying with speech and behavior. For everyone knows that as a picture is worth a thousand words, our actions speak louder than words. And if our actions contradict the words we speak, it is alway our actions which are believed. Therefore, we break the Ninth Commandment both when we bare false witness about ourselves with words that do not match our deeds, and bare false witness against Christ when are deeds do not match His teachings.

When people accused Jesus of being a servant of the Devil, he responded by pointing to his behavior. Jesus often called people to consider his actions and the things he did as proof that he was sent by God. And when Paul responded to his critics, he always reminded them of how he and his associates conducted themselves. Both Jesus and Paul relied on their actions more than their words to prove their servitude to God.

I have no doubt that when God commanded His people to no bare false witness against each other, He did so because He knew that it would reflect badly on Him. And is this not exactly what happens when Christians behave in a manner others outside the Church know contradicts the teachings of the Bible? Is it not God and Jesus who suffer the most loss when some one claiming to be a Christian behaves in a manner contrary to his words? Is it not the Church, the body of Christ, that is injured when one of its members, by his behavior, bares false witness against the Church?

The news of the land too often contains a report of some minister doing something everyone knows the Bible speaks against. Whether it be a minister chasing after money and living a lavish lifestyle, or a minister having an affair with a gay man, or a minister using his pulpit to speak hatred toward some group, the false witness these men make is more against the gospel of Jesus Christ than it is against themselves. And it is how these men behave which attracts the attention of the public; much more so than anything they say. As a result, it is the behavior of these false witnesses which dominates the minds of someone a faithful witness speaks the Word of truth to. So the truthful witness also suffers from the negative perception of him planted in the lost sheep's mind by the false witness.

When we correctly interpret the Ninth Commandment as forbidding the telling of lies about another, we need to remember that God, Jesus, and the Church count as "another." And we need to remember that we are constantly being watched; our behavior is constantly being scrutinized. We are always making a witness and giving testimony even when there are no words coming out of our mouth. The giving or withholding of a smile; the holding or not holding of a door; having a beer or a cigarette in our hand; the magazine we look at while standing in line at the checkout; the too tight or too baggy pants we are wearing. In all of these silent ways and many others we present a witness loud and clear. And whenever our non-verbal testimony is contrary to our words, it is our behavior which will have prominence. Our verbal witness will be ignored as false. For ultimately, people hear better with their eyes than with their ears.

Therefore, let us go forth and bare no false witness against our Heavenly Father and our master, Jesus Christ, by our behavior. Let us strive to give a true testimony to the love of the Father and the Son, and our obedience to their teachings with our every action. And may God be glorified by both our words and deeds.

May the grace of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.

Scripture reference: Judges 2:21-23

When the Israelites went into the land the Lord had given to them, God had commanded them to empty it of its inhabitants, so as not to be contaminated with the pagan religion and ways of the people who were living in the land. But the children of Israel did not do as God commanded them. Not only that, after the first generation of Israelites that had moved into the land died, the next generation did exactly what God did not want them to do. The began to marry with the pagans, and began to adopt their religion and their ways. As a result, God was angry with the children of Israel. And, in His wisdom, God knew that this choice of behavior would eventually result in difficulties for the children of Israel. So God decided that He would not help His people out of the difficulties they had brought upon themselves. Instead, God decided that the situation would provide the Israelites an opportunity to prove "whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not." (Judges 2:22 KJV)

Quite often members of the Church will do things they know they are not supposed to do. They will charge a purchase they know they don't really need and cannot afford to a credit card. They will enter into a relationship they know is not right. They will go some place they know they should not go to. They will do something they know they should not do. And then when they find themselves in a difficult situation, a situation they created, they suddenly expect God to get them out of it. They seem to think all they have to do is pray to God to spare them, and He will make everything alright.

This passage makes it quite clear that God sees such situations as an opportunity for us to prove our faith in Him. The question in His mind is simple, honest, and just. Will we continue to love God, be obedient to Him, and follow His ways, even as we struggle to get out of the mess we created? Or will we blame the difficulty we created on God, and turn our back on Him because He does not save us from the troubles of our own creation? Will be truly repent of our ways, or will we deny that we did anything wrong and worthy of punishment?

The Bible teaches us that if we are truly repentant in our hearts, and worship God in how we live our life, and call upon Him in the name of Jesus, He will provide us with a way out of trouble. For God is long suffering in His love toward us, and His mercy is everlasting. If we prove our faith in Him by accepting responsibility for our transgressions and continue to praise Him in the storm of difficulties we have created, He will pour out His grace and blessings upon us.

Of course, if we always follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus asked His father to send us we will not get ourselves into trouble. But, should we make a wrong turn and go down an wrong path and find ourselves in a field of thorns, we must remember that God is going to be watching to see if we blame and desert Him. Or will we repent of our mistake, and demonstrate the faith that following God and His ways is what is always best. Will we see the difficulties as an excuse to complain to God, or an opportunity to prove our faith?

May God bless you and give you peace. Amen.

The American society of today is saturated with people proclaiming messages of liberation and prosperity. They can be found in the houses of God, and in the houses of the people (Legislatures). Both preachers and politicians alike pronounce their plans for liberating the masses from oppression and poverty. They present a claim that God wants all people to be free and prosperous, and use scripture as their proof. They decry a government and social structure which supposedly denies freedoms to some, and allows only a select few to become prosperous.

It is interesting to view these ideas in the light of God's word. Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, was always telling people to give away their wealth. He, in fact, said that it would be very difficult for a rich man to enter Heaven. And he spent his whole life living and teaching among the poor common folk. When Jesus did dine with the rich, he always told them to remember the poor, and not to exclude them from their parties. Nowhere in any of the teachings of Jesus can it be found where He instructed people that they should strive to achieve prosperity because God intended them to. This is a fabrication of modern secular gurus seeking the adoration and following of the masses. Gurus in both politics and the Church.

A careful study of Paul is not required to be aware of the many times he proudly referred to himself as a salve of Christ Jesus. Bound by the Word and for the Word. He considered himself free from The Law and the desires of the flesh, but a slave to God purchased by the blood of Christ. Paul did not preach a liberation theology, but a theology of obedience and service to and for Christ Jesus. His message was one of receiving grace and glory from God by participating in the self giving sacrifice of Jesus. Those among us today who preach a liberation theology seems to be advocating a freedom from constraints on fulfilling carnal desires and worldly ambitions. They appear to believe that having what you want when and how you want it makes you free. Both Jesus and Paul explain that such practices only enslave you to sin, and prevent you from receiving the eternal life of glory in Heaven offered by the Grace of God. What is achieved by following the teachings of liberation and prosperity preachers is really only bondage and poverty.

In the book of James chapter 4, verse 4 we are told that those who are the friends of the world are the enemies of God. For the ways of the world, like seeking total independence and wealth, replace God in a person's life. They become the things he worships and follows after, not God. The irony of the life God offers us through Christ Jesus is that the more He becomes our master, the more free and prosperous we become. For Jesus has told us that He is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) And he has also said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(John 8:32) By becoming like Paul, a slave to Christ Jesus, we become free from the world and life of sin. And by practicing what Jesus taught, we store up great riches for ourselves in God's house. Riches that will never rust, and can never be stolen.

So, friends, if you want to be liberated and prosperous, make the Lord Jesus Christ your master. In Him and through Him is true freedom and wealth beyond imagining. Praise God!